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Juan Brandis
Juan (Johannes) Martines Brandis (c. 1590 - 9 February 1657) was a Brunanter of Aragonese origin who is best known for the novel Guisbert's Crusade, published 1625-27. Brandis is considered to be one of the finest Brunanter writers, often compared to Cervantes or Shakespeare in his influence to Brunanter literature. Biography Early life It is believed that Brandis was born around 1590 or 1595, on 24 June, the feast of St. John's. According to official documents in his possession, his birth name was Juan Martines Brand(t). His father was a poor mortician working in Nieuw Helmond. His mother is believed to have died or left the family when Juan was young. He had an uncle who was a professor at a school in Grijzestad. Brandis was sent to live with his uncle, where he studied and learned to read and write. Around 1610, he was romantically involved with the daughter of a local merchant, and when she mysteriously died, he was forced to flee the city as he had a warrant for his arrest. Career Fleeing Grijzestad, he settled in Roodstad, where lax enforcement of the law allowed him to remain in peace. Nevertheless, he adopted the Brandis surname and stopped using "Martines" in order to conceal his identity. There, he worked as a tax collector and devoted his time writing poems, which were published by Felix Bosch, a prominent printer, in 1617. Following, he was able to publish a few more books. Around that time, he was married to a local woman called Maria. The couple had daughters. In 1622, he released his first novel, Victoria, of which only 100 copies were printed and only six sold. Due to the lack of success of his novel, and shortly after being fired as a tax collector, he enlisted in the military. There, he began to write his magnum opus, Guisbert's Crusade. The story based on a man wrongfully accused of being a thief may have been an allusion to his own life and fleeing, but was instead written as a comedic picaresque novel. Brandis worked on it while he was a soldier, but soon after, he became tired of the military life. He deserted and was then arrested, and in prison, he began working out his novel. Eventually released in late 1624, he then finished his novel in Roodstad. The book was completed and published in 1625, and it brought him recognition among the literary community. Only 600 copies were printed, and quickly selling out, a further 1,000 were published by Felix Bosch. He did not become a wealthy man, with the publisher retaining a large portion of the money, though he certainly lived better off. He remarried in 1628, with his first wife having left him while in prison. Two further volumes were printed, both in 1627, completing his novel. In 1629, Brandis published a derivative novel off Guisbert, entitled Tarante the Lover. Though this book was not as good, his rising status as a writer enabled the publisher to sell a lot of copies. In order to make more money, Felix Bosch had a new novel of Brandis published in 1630, The Solitary Roodstader. The modern consensus is that the book is not by Brandis, given its terrible writing style and short time of completion after his preceding work. The book sold only cause of the writer's reputation, but soon enough, angry customers demanding their money back had forced Bosch to flee the city. Without a publisher, he and his wife moved to Sint-Anders, where he completed the novels Severine (1633) as well as a historical drama on the Battle of Donderstad in 1427, A History of the Cavalier Bartolomeus (1635). Brandis did well in Sint-Anders, but around 1638, the Grijzestad government found out he was living in the town and was out to arrest him and punish him for his supposed murder crime. He was able to escape back to Niesburg, though his family did not come. Rather than risk an arrest, he fled to Spain shortly after. Later life and death Brandis settled in Valencia and soon married a local girl. Improving his Spanish, he released a reworked Spanish version of Gisbert in 1639. He later wrote a few other Spanish short stories, published over five volumes between 1641 and 1650. After 1650, he decided to return to Brunant with his family, settling down in Markstad. Brandis died in 1657. His descendant Julian Brandis is the coach of Straslander football club Union Finskeby. Legacy Brandis' Guisbert's Crusade and other works have had a major influence on Brunanter literature, and have been published in a variety of languages. Brunant's cultural institute, the Brandis Institute, is named after him, as is the library of the Grijzestad University and a primary school in Dortmund. Brandis has influenced a variety of writers from the time of his death to the present day, including Emmanuel Berger, who was influenced to write novels after reading his works. Notable works *''Poems by Juan Brandis'' (1617) *''32 Poems'' (1619) *''The Two Travelers'' (1621) *''Victoria'' (1622) *''Guisbert the Thief'' (1625-27) *''Tarante the Lover'' (1629) *''Severine'' (1633) *''A History of the Cavalier Bartolomeus'' (1635) *''El Ladron Guisberto'' (1639) Category:Dead people Category:Writers Category:Poets Category:1590 births Category:Military personnel